


Miraculous Ladybug: The Lifeguard

by mermanfromdownunder



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma Attack, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, F/M, Fanfiction, Lifeguard, Swimming, Swimming Pools, swimsuit, swimwear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-20 16:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13721811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mermanfromdownunder/pseuds/mermanfromdownunder
Summary: As a reward for their hard work during the semester, the class takes a trip to the swimming pool. -Canon Compliant-





	1. There's Akumas in my Stomach

Marinette could barely sleep. She knew that in just a few short hours she would be hanging out with Adrien at the pool. It was the last week before Summer break and since Miss Bustier's class had finished all their alloted work, it was time for a reward day to celebrate and relax after a long semester of work. She had been buzzing with anticipation all afternoon and evening since the class was told of their rewards trip, like she had drunk several energy drinks in a single sitting. Marinette was flipping between cripplingly nervous to desperately excited with each passing second since the annoucement.

She played scenes in her minds eye over and over as she layed restless in bed, writing a script of what she should say to Adrien and imagining what he would wear swimming.

Finally, well past when she would have been asleep, she finally crashed, mumbled whispers of her crushes name escaping her lips as her eyes fluttered closed.

The alarm on her phone roused her from a dream she was having about her Adrien. She groaned as she became fully conscious and turned the alarm off and rolled back.

"Good morning Marinette, ready for your big day?" The small red Kwami said, zipping out from behind Marinette's pillow.

"Morning Tikki, not really, I feel like throwing up." The girl replied, jumping up out of bed. The Kwami floated down to meet her. Marinette put her hands on her stomach. "It feels like there's Akumas in there."

Tikki giggled "Marinette, it's normal to be nervous."

Marinette walked to her mirror and gazed at her reflection. "But what if I blow it with Adrien! This could be the day, the day that he finall-"

"Marinette! Breakfast is ready!" Her mother called to her from down stairs. Marinette shot a smile to Tikki in the reflection, a smile that said she knew the Kwami was probably right like she usually was.

Marinette scoffed down her breakfast, hoping it would drown the butterflies in her stomach.

"Have you picked out what you are going to wear to the pool sweetie?" Sabine asked inquisitively. Marinette dropped her spoon into her bowl of cereal as her eyes widened.

"Ahhh, no! I completely forgot!" Shieked Marinette before she leapt from the table and up to her room again.

After rifling through her draws and cupboard for a few minutes she finally found what she was after and layed them out onto her bed. Tikki floated up to Marinette, who was just standing there shifting her gaze between the options she had layed out.

"What one should I pick??" The girls said raising her hands to her head.

"Whichever one you would feel most comfortable talking to Adrien in." Said the Kwami.

"Hmmmm. Okay. You don't think red would be too obvious? Alya might connect the dots?" Marinette panicked.

Tikki smiled "Red is your best colour, you always are at your best when you wear red."

Marinette kissed the Kwami on the head. "Thanks Tikki!" She grabbed the modest red one piece swimsuit and stuffed it her her bag along with a towel.

She was one of last to arrive at school as always, and the short trip across the road filled her with more anticipation than usual. Most of Miss Bustier's class were hanging around the bench at the bottom of the stairs. Marinette could see once she got closer that some of the students were already wearing there swimsuits under their clothing. Rose had the strings of a pink swimsuit tied behind her neck and Alix had tight swim shorts under her regular pants. As Marinette approached the gathering of students, Alya popped out from the group.

"Heyyy Gurl, all ready to go swimming?" Alya winked at the conclusion of her question. Marinette knew what her best friend had meant.

"Uuuuhhh yeah, kinda, sor-ta" Marinette blundered. Alya span her friend away from the group.

Alya checked the time on her phone, only a few minutes remained until class would be starting, but today Miss Bustier would be escorting them all to the pool. "Adrien isn't here yet." She whispered into Marinette's ear. A look of dread fell onto the blue haired girls face, even though Alya couldn't see it fully, she knew the girl well enough to guess her reaction. "Take it easy, deep breaths." Alya comforted. Marinette was close to hyperventilating, but the words of her friend eased her.

Her mind raced as fast as words were coming out of her mouth. "What if he doesn't come? What if he never come back to school again and moves overseas and never finds out how I feel about him and we never see each other again and-"

"Slow down Marinette! It will be fine, maybe he's meeting us at the pool?" Alya spoke calmingly.

\----------------------------------------------

"But Father?!" Adrien retorted like he did many times before.

A sturn look crossed Gabriel Agreste's neutral face. "No, I cannot allow you to go swimming in a public pool. You could get sick and ruin next week's photo shoot. "

"It's a reward trip, all my friends and classmates will be there. It's not even outside so I won't get sunburnt." The boy protested.

"If you want to have a pool party over the summer you can, but this shoot is very importa-" Agreste was cut off.

"Please Father, I don't ask you for much. I just want to have some fun with my friends. I promise I will be careful and he can come watch me." Adrien pointed at his bodyguard and chauffeur who was standing in the doorway to Gabriel's office

A defeated Gabriel, pushed up his glasses. "Fine. I will hold you to that promise. You may, go swimming."

A second past before Adrien realised that he had gotten his way. He bolted up to the large slender man and wrapped his arms around his trunk like body.

"Thank you father!" The boy spoke softly, burying his face half into the body of his father. He let go after a small amount of time had elapsed.

"Here." Gabriel said, turning his back and strolling over to a cupboard. He opened it and pulled out an item of clothing. "Try this out, see how comfortable it as and get the opinions of your classmates."

"What is it?" The boy asked as his father handed him the folded item. He felt the soft fabric in his hand.

"It's a prototype of the next summer collection, do take care of it. Now hurry up, you are late." Agreste barked, sitting down in his luxurious chair.

\-------------------------------------------

Just past 8:30, Miss Bustier descended down the stairs and hurded up her class. She took a roll call before the entire class, minus Adrien, began the short walk to the pool.

Marinette couldn't help but feel worried, the butterflies she had been suppressing fairly well until now we're almost escaping from her chest. She could feel something almost bursting out, perhaps it was the butterflies or her pounding heart.

During the 20 minute walk to the aquatic centre Alya did her best to keep Marinette calm. She sandwiched her best friend between herself and Nino to keep an eye on her. Early in the trip, Marinette had asked Nino if he knew if Adrien was coming or not. He replied that he didn't know and hadn't spoken to Adrien since yesterday at school. Marinette didn't like that response and it dug her a little deeper into the despair hole she was digging herself into.

Just as they were rounding the final corner, Marinette saw out of the corner of her eye a sliver flash go past her on the road. Before she could fully finishing connecting the dots as to who's car it was, the group came to a halt outside the aquatic centre.

She couldn't see very much because of the other students in front of her as Nino, Marinette and Alya were close to the back of the group, and she wasn't taller than Juleka, who was directly in front of her, so she couldn't see over her head. But she heard a car door shut and Miss Bustier saying "Nice of you to join us Adrien." Those words echoed through her head; 'Adrien, Adrien.... Adrien!". Alya's elbow stabbed Marinette in the side, snapping her back into reality.

"See Gurl, told you he'd be here". Alya said cheerfully.

As soon as Adrien stepped out of the car he was half mauled to death by Chloe. He was clearly starting to wear thin of her advances as he was shrugging her off. Miss Bustier began taking roll again.

"Hi Chloe." He said to her plainly after she had finished suffocating him in hugs. Unlike most of the other students, Chloe Bourgeois wore a different outfit to the pool. She only was wearing it to entice Adrien and didn't have any thoughts about actually going into the water, but she had a designer yellow bikini underneath a very expensive looking cover up dress with a different pair of sunglasses to her usual sat upon her golden hair.

"Adrikins! I was beginning to think you weren't coming!" Chloe borked in her usual high pitch squeak.

"Well, I'm here now." Adrien said nervously while scanning the group instead of looking at Chloe.

Chloe noticed this lack of attention and sidestepped to be in front of him again."How do I look??" She asked, twirling her bikini string as she spun.

"You look nice." He said looking back at her again. Nino's cap caught his eye. "I'll see you inside Chloe." Adrien walked to the back of the line to meet up with Nino just as Miss Bustier finished the roll again and directed the class inside. Chloe looked frustrated for a second before realising the class had left without her and then launched herself back up to the front of the line to enter the building with Sabrina.


	2. Drowning in Nervousness

"Hey guys!" Adrien called out as he finally made his way to the back of the line.

"Yo, bro!" Nino replied, greeting Adrien with a fist bump.

"Hey Adrien, nice of you to join us." Alya said, nudging Marinette in the arm with her own, causing her finally to break her wide eye stare.

"Ehrrh Hh-hii, Aaadrien" She blurted.

The line started to move and Adrien joined the group, standing next to Marinette. Their shoulders were centimetres away from each other. If anyone was monitoring Marinette's thoughts, they would have surely heard the internal screams she was making.

The class entered the building and made their way up to the small grandstand overlooking the pool. Miss Bustier explained the few rules of the pool to the entire class before telling the students to go and get changed. The boys went off to the right side and down into the change rooms below that side of the grandstand and the girls went to the left.

Marinette took one of the empty stalls and changed into her swimmers. She was still buzzing with anticipation and nerves. Just as she was exiting her stall, Alya was leaving one of the stalls opposite. She had an orange-brown tankini that almost matched the tips of her wavy hair and a pair of patterned board shorts.

"Wow Marinette, you should wear red more often, it suits you." Alya commented, slightly taken off guard. Juleka came out from one of the stalls behind Marinette, she was dressed in a black rash top and knee length swim shorts.

"Hey, Juleka, don't you think that red suits Marinette?" Alya polled. Marinette turned to face Juleka, which gave the girl a good view of the swimsuit now that Marinette's bag wasn't in the way.

"Hmmm, yeah, Alya's right Marinette. Red is definitely your colour." Juleka confessed.

"And that suit is very cute. Adrien won't be able to keep his eyes off you." Alya said, grasping Marinette's shoulders and looking her up and down.

"Are you su-sure?" Marinette asked.

"Positive!" Alya replied.

Marinette began to blush a similar colour to her bathing suit. The girls strolled out of the changing rooms and met back up with the boys in front of the grandstand on the pool deck. Miss Bustier, who had also changed into an elegant halterneck one piece swimsuit, addressed the class one final time. She introduced the Lifeguard that was on duty at the small aquatic centre. It was her job to keep the students safe, dressed in a blue racing style one piece and matching board shorts with a rescue float draped over her tanned shoulder.

"This is Jessica, she's the Lifeguard on duty today, if you have any problems, please talk to her or myself. She is here to keep you safe, so please follow the pool rules and her instructions." Miss Bustier announced to the class.

The Lifeguard took a step forward. "That's right, I'm just here to watch over you all and to keep you from doing anything you should be in and around the pool. Follow the pool rules and we should all have a pretty good time." She said, ending her speech with a friendly gesture before walking off.

Marinette paid less attention to the talk than she probably should have, but still heard everything the women said. She was too busy trying to sneek a glimpse at Adrien between all of the other students.

"Alright class, have fun!" Miss Bustier declared. The students broke away and made a beeline to the water. As the hurd of teens seperated, Marinette caught her first look at what Adrien was wearing to the pool. The nervousness consumed her, like she was drowning; she couldn't breath.

Adrien and Nino navigated their way through what remained of the crowd of students when they saw Alya and Marinette.

"Looking good guys!" Alya exclaimed as the boys approached. Marinette couldn't take her eyes off her crush, she felt numb, like her spirit had left her body.

"You two don't look to bad yourself." Nino said flirtatiously. Adrien's eyes locked with Marinette's and he smiled.  
The blond haired boy had the stylish black knee-length swim bottoms his father had given him and a tight fitting grey rash top. Nino had vibrant orange board shorts and a bare chest. All the other students had made their way over to the pool, leaving just the four of them.

"Well, are we going to stand here all day or are we gonna go swimming?" Alya chimed in, breaking the deadlock that Marinette and Adrien were in. Both turned and acknowledged her. Ayla leaned over and grabbed Nino by the wrist and dragged him towards the pool, leaving Adrien and Marinette.

"Soooo. Um. We should probabl-" Adrien started nervously.

"Ehrg, yeaahh, we should." Marinette blundered out, exasperated. Adrien raised his hand out in a welcoming gesture. The girl stepped forward closing the gap between them and lifted her arm, landing her small trembling hand in his palm. She smiled slightly. They both began to walk towards the pool to join the rest of the class who were almost all in the water. Ivan and Mylène were sat on the far side of the pool with their legs in water. Miss Bustier was standing in one of the corners supervising and a few other students were climbing out of the pool and lining up for the small diving board.

The secret heroes reached the edge of the pool. Water sloshed over the side and washed onto their feet, it was cold but pleasant, and made Marinette shiver. She looked over at Adrien who was already gazing over at her, which caught her by surprise.

"You wanna, j-jump in?" The boy asked. All she could do was nod as confirmation, she felt like her voice box had been removed. Marinette took as deep a breath she could and gripped Adrien's hand a little tighter. She held her nose with her free hand and the pair took a leap into the refreshing aqua.

Her blue pony tails sagged under the weight of the water in her hair when she surfaced. She took a large gulp of air and looked across to find Adrien, still connected to her hand who had just came out of the water too. The water was deep enough that the pair couldn't stand, but perhaps an tall adult could. Marinette wasn't the best swimmer, and being tethered hindered her abilities further. Adrien noticed her struggling the instant he rose from underwater.

"Ma-Marinette, I think it would be easier, if you let go." He stated, treading water. Adrien wasn't a pro swimmer, but the few private lessons he had had when he was younger gave him an edge over Marinette. She looked down to the end of her arm and released her almost death grip on the hand of the boy. With her other arm free, keeping herself above water was much less effort. A waving arm caught her eye from across the pool, it was Alya beckoning her and Adrien to join them. Adrien turned and saw the invitation as well, he called for Marinette to follow him with a smile he shot at her before he ducked underwater and swam towards the other couple. Marinette bobbed under and followed the boy using what looked like a bad variation of breast stroke.

Chloe Bourgeois and her companion Sabrina were layed out on the few deck chairs that were on the far side of the pool next to the large glass windows. Chloe had taken of her cover up dress revealing her designer yellow bikini and Sabrina had a fairly expensive looking purple one piece. The sun backlit the pair who were the sole occupants of the deck chairs, everyone else was either in the water or waiting for the diving board and even if anyone wanted to sit near them, Sabrina would have informed them firmly to leave.

Marinette peeked out of the water after she ran into a soft mass. She didn't have her eyes open while swimming; she thought she had ran into a classmate, but she almost fainted when she saw it was Adrien she had bumped into.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly.

She cleared her airways from the water she had just inhaled. "Yea-yeah-yes." She squeaked. Alya and Nino were just a metre away leaning on the edge of the pool. Adrien took initiative before the girl drowned and put a hand around her waist and pulled her close before treading over to the edge to drop her off. Marinette instinctively placed her arm on his waist as well, resisting the urge to scream the entire journey over to the side of the pool.

Alya gave her best friend and internal thumbs up when Marinette finally caught her breath and looked over to her.

"Nino was just telling me about your new swimmers Adrien, are they next year's style?" Alya questioned, egging Marinette to join in.

Adrien flicked the water from his golden hair. "Yes, my father gave them to me this morning to test out and get everyone's opinion on them before they go into the final stages of production."

"They look killer dude, are they comfy?" Nino asked.

"Very, so far." Adrien replied.

Marinette thought she had to say something. "You look very goo-I MEAN, they look very good on you"

Adrien blushed, then grinned. "Thanks Marinette, you look-"

Chloe had strolled up to the side of the pool just next to Ayla. "Adrikins! Come and sit with us." She squawked, interrupting Adrien.

Alya swore under her breath "Urrhg, Chloe! Just as Marinette was making headway."

"Maybe in a bit Chloe, I just feel like swimming for the moment." Adrien said giving her a reasonable excuse, but all he wanted to do was spend time with his real friends, which he didn't have much time for between his extra-curricular activities, modelling, homework and being Chat Noir.

"Alright, you know where to find meeeeee!" Chloe sang, turning on her heel and elegantly walking back to Sabrina, attempting to impress Adrien.

As usual, Marinette was fuming; once again Chloe had interrupted her time with Adrien. If it wasn't for her, they would have kissed when they both acted in the class short film last year. Marinette also thought briefly about how many Akuma were caused by Chloe, too many to keep track of.

"So, where were we?" Alya said, hopefully that Adrien would continue his thoughts on Marinette.

"I think we were going to have a go on the diving board, there doesn't seem to be as big of a line now" Nino interjected. Alya splashed a torrent of water into his face. "Hey! What's that for?!"

The look on Alya's face explained everything to Nino and he looked extremely guilty.

"Yeah, let's do that. It will be fun." Adrien said, looking slightly confused.

Ayla led the gang around to the ladder and hauled herself up. She was followed by Nino, Adrien and finally Marinette.


	3. Diving into Action

Droplets of water fell from Marinette's red swimsuit onto the tiled floor. She couldn't take her eyes off her beloved Adrien, not even for a second. She had to record all of this to memory as best she could. Her brain went into autopilot as the group traced the edge of the pool. As Alya came to a stop at the small diving board, Kim was on the board raring to jump. Max was behind him eagerly awaiting to take his place.

"Ladies first." A familiar voice spoke.

Marinette was unconsciously staring right at Adrien when the words punctured her thoughts. The boy had stepped aside to let her go before him, with a gentlemanly arm gesture. Marinette snapped out of her daze and smiled thankfully, leading the boy to smile even more than he was already. She stepped up in line and Adrien closed in after her just inches away from her back. 

When it was Alya's turn at the board, she sprung off the end into the water below, swimming off to one side when she surfaced. Nino did a similar dive, but was propelled a little higher in the air. Marinette stepped up onto the block and carefully out onto the board. She had only used a diving board like this once before, when she was much younger, but watching the others instilled confidence that she could still do it but was still feeling nervous. 'Come on, you jump off heaps of things as Ladybug' she thought. Looking back to Adrien for support, he was watching her eagerly and returned a nod, smile and thumbs up. His support did her a world of difference, similar to the confidence she gains as Ladybug. 'Maybe it's the red suit?' she wondered.

She took her time springing the flexible diving board up and down before she leapt off. As she reached the apex she curled herself inward so she was now going head first into the water with her arms out in front of her like a missle. With a small splash she entered the water and glided a few metres down into the water before making a hasty break for the surface.

Opening her eyes just as she rose from the water, Marinette was met with applause and cheer from the few students that were watching. Alya, Nino, Adrien, Kim, Max and Alix all couldn't believe that Marinette pulled off such a dive. Alix paddled over to her once Marinette was off to the side.

"Woah Marinette! That was incredible! Maybe we need to get a diving team together for Françoise Dupont high!" The sporty girl exclaimed, treading water.

"Oh, I wasn't that great, was I?" Marinette asked humbly.

Adrien took his place on the board and prepared to dive. He stretched his arms out into a 'T' pose before taking a breath and bouncing the flexible plank. Just as his feet were about to depart the board, his right foot slipped on the damp surface when he transferred his weight just before the jump. This caused the young man slip backward, launching himself awkwardly off the board. By the time he realised what was going on it was already too late. His head thumped against the plank on his decent before he plummeted into the water.

Adrien was only unconscious for a few seconds, face down in the water with his limbs floating like jellyfish tentacles. But those who were observing the jump were already concerned for his safety. Nino and Alya rushed over from where they were floating in an instant to assist. It took Marinette a second to process everything but once she did, she rushed over to her friend as well.

Adrien could feel someone holding his upper back as he slowly returned to full consciousness. His eyes flicked open revealing a familiar face was only centimetres away, so close that he could feel her fast breaths. Her arms cradled his body to assist in keeping him afloat.

"Urrng. L-la-ladybug?" Adrien spoke in a soft and disjointed voice.


	4. I'm Pawsitively Feline Better

The worry on Marinette's' face turned to shock. She could have sworn her heart stopped for a moment or at least skipped a beat or two. She was cradling the dazed boy with both her arms while trying to keep herself above water as well. She couldn't think of anything else to do but hold him close and above water while her mind was screaming. 'Does he know I'm Ladybug?' and a million other thoughts ran through Marinette's head.

"Wah www what are you doing hereee, my lady?" Adrien slurred again before falling back into unconsciousness. Marinette's' eyes widened. 'Only Chat Noir calls me that?!! Is Adrien delusional? Concussed? Is he-' Her line of thought was cut off by Nino and Alya finally coming to her aid.

Marinette felt shellshocked for the following minutes as she still held onto him, now assisted by Ayla and Nino. Another student called out to the Lifeguard who zipped from teaching a few students some basic strokes to assist. Together the students floated Adrien over to the side of the pool, under instructions to keep him as flat as possible from the lifeguard. With assistance from out of the water, the students beached the injured boy onto the tiled floor surrounding the pool area. Marinette couldn't do anything more than watch as the lifeguard checked his vitals while Miss Bustier looked on in terror.

"He's going to be alright. He's just unconscious. His airways are clear and his pulse is fine. Someone get him a towel." Jessica, the Lifeguard announced to the gathering of onlookers.

A great weight had left Marinette. It had felt like her leg had an old fashioned ball and chain attached, eager to pull her to the bottom of the pool. She wouldn't know what she would do without Adrien, she supposed it would be similar to not have Chat Noir around. The boy had been the centre of her attention for a little over a year, about the same time she's been Ladybug.

She and Alya clung to the side of the pool watching over the golden haired boy. Nino had gotten out to sit beside Adrien. Jessica the Lifeguard had retrieved an ice pack for Adrien's already swelling bump on his head and placed it just above his right temple.

"It will be okay Marinette, Adrien is going to be fine. The lifeguard said so. But I know how you must feel." Alya spoke in a comforting tone.

Marinette had her arms folded across the edge to cushion her chin. Her eyes locked still on her crush. "Like my world has ended?"

"Don't be so dramatic Marinette!" Alya said with a small splash in Marinette's' direction. "Besides you did a pretty good job at rescuing him. I don't think Ladybug could do any better herself."

Marinette blushed slightly. 'If only she knew' she thought.

Adrien open his eyes in a flash. His body jerked before he catapulted his upper body into an upright position much to the suprise and dismay of Nino and the Lifeguard watching over him.

"You must lay still until the ambulance arrives!" Jessica informed the boy.

Nino tried to tell Adrien as well. "The pool lady is right dude. Just take it easy."

If Adrien's heartrate had been measured, it surely would have caused alarm. It pounded like an engine inside his toned chest.

"L- ladybug?" He whispered almost to himself, looking around for his red suited companion. Nino would have been the only one close enough to hear. Adrien calmed himself just as the paramedics arrived, rushing through the front door with a stretcher bed. The boy felt exhausted, like he had just battled several Akumatised enemies at once. He layed back down to rest, using a towel as a pillow.

Marinette was beyond relief. She sunk down a few more inches in the water, feeling the cool liquid run over her shoulders, extinguishing most of her worry.

"I'm fine, really. I don't need to go to the hospital." Adrien protested. If he was Chat Noir right now, he'd have multiple cat puns locked and loaded.

"Mister Agreste, I feel it's in your best interests to get checked over at the hospital." Miss Bustier rebutted. "But if the medics check you over and don't agree you need to go, I can't force you."

The paramedics gave Adrien the once over, much like Jessica had done, although thoroughly and with some equipment. The two medics both concluded that he didn't need to go to the hospital and left briefly after. Leaving the shaken boy to rest up on the grandstand. The lifeguard had helped him up there and had just made her way down when Chloe Bourgeois cut her off at the bottom of the stairs, with Sabrina only a half step behind.

"How is my Adrien! Is he okay?! I only just heard about his terrible accident!" Chloe screeched.

"He is fine now. But needs to rest for a bit." Jessica explained.

"Apparently, you were giving swimming lessons instead of looking out for the safety of everyone." The blonde girl said with a hint of disdain. This made Jessica furious, it was her job to look after everyone and she felt she hadn't been neglecting her duty. "This is a council owned pool is it not, Sabrina? And therefore my father has authority over it?"

Sabrina nodded in agreement. Jessica gulped. She had put together from the expensive swimming attire, Mayor Bourgeois. 'But that's all he was, Major. Not supreme leader of the universe, President or a God, just mayor of Paris. But maybe that would be enough' she imagined.

"I'm going to talk to the manager. Come on Sabrina." Chloe commanded. Jessica gave them a long stare for a moment as they headed to the pool office before she returned to watching over the pool.

Minutes had past before the two girls came back. They had dragged over the manager of the pool who seemed less furious than Jessica had expected. He waved for the girls to leave them, which they did with a mischievous glare.

"Jess, those two young girls just interrupted my lunch break to tell me that you have been, neglecting your duties." The older man said, scratching his slightly balding head.

She was taken aback. "I haven't been, there was an incident. The paramedics arrived and checked the young man over. He's fine and resting up there." She said, pointing over at the boy.

"I don't know whether to entirely trust what the girls told me. I do believe you did everything you could have, I really do. You are one of the best lifeguards we have had on staff here in my time." The man started to find it harder to push out the words. Jessica could feel what was coming. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to let you go. I've got my hands tied, she's threatening to get her father involved, she's the mayor's daughter..."

The lifeguard raised her hand to make her manager stop. "I understand."

"I'm so sorry Jess." The man said, looking defeated.

The young lady walked silently off to the change rooms, fuming inside.


	5. Thirsty for Revenge

The iris window slowly opened, spilling streaks of light into the dark room. The now disturbed white butterflies took flight and scattered throughout the room. A tall and slender man stood in the centre of the room bathed in the light and darkness simultaneously.

"Such built up rage, thirsty for revenge. An excellent host for my Akuma." The man said holding out his hand for a butterfly. The small white creature landed and as he cupped his other hand over it, a dark energy filled it's body. After releasing it, he twirled his small staff. "Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize her!"

Jess walked in to the ladies change room and sat on one of the benches already in tears. The small black and purple papillon flew into the change rooms via a ventilation duct. In anger, Jess went to throw her rescue float, but as soon as she was primed to throw, the Akuma merged into it; transfering it's dark powers into Jess.

"Lifeguard, I am Hawkmoth. I can help you exact your revenge on those that have wronged you. However, you must help me by seizing Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses! Have we got a deal?" The man's voice echoed from inside her head.

"Yes Hawkmoth." Jess, already feeling the raw power the Akuma had granted her. As soon as she accepted, she began transforming into a new form.

Adrien's accident and absence from the pool had killed Marinette's buzz. She was happy he was okay, but missing his presence deeply as she sat on the side of the pool with her legs in. Alya and Nino were having a personal competition over who could hold their breath longer. And nobody else seemed concerned or sad over Adrien not being there.

He was lying down on a towel as a pillow, with another towel under him to shield from the icy concrete grandstand. Under orders to take it easy, Adrien was trying his best to do exactly that. However, his delirious and frazzled mind had convinced him that Ladybug had rescued him. He was positive that the blue haired, red suited heroine had came to his aid. But as he layed there, he turned his head to look over the pool and spotted his lady in red in the distance.

While he still felt slightly concussed, began to put the pieces together in her head. Red suit, blue hai-. His thoughts were cut short by a loud whistle, much louder than a regular coach whistle it was almost deafening.

The blaring whistle had caused everyone in the pool area to tense, some even holding their hands over their ears. Marinette winced in moderate pain at the sound and pivoted in the direction she was sure it was coming from, just as the noise stopped. She gasped when she recognised the all to familiar sight of an akumatised villain. It was the lifeguard, transformed into a puppet of evil by Hawkmoth. Her blue swimsuit had expanded to cover the rest of her skin and more resembled a wetsuit now. Her eyes were outlined by a mask made from neon pink zinc cream and rescue float shimmered with magical energy.

"I am The Lifeguard. Where is Chloe Bourgeois?!" The villain commanded.

The students had been at the receiving end of many Akuma attacks, but still everyone in and out of the pool felt terrified. As students began to scramble out of the pool, the Lifeguard closed the gap between her and the pool.

"No running!" She barked at a student attempting to escape. The villain swung her rescue float like a sword, causing a deflated pool ring to spawn out of the end and fly towards the student. It impacted the boy and inflated around him trapping his arms and propelled him into water.

The Akuma victim did this to a few others as Marinette looked up to where Adrien had been. 'Where did Adrien go??!!' she thought. As important as Adrien's safety was, the only way she could guarantee he was safe was to defeat this villain. No doubt Chat Noir will be here any moment.

As most of her class mates had already escaped to safety, there were only a few targets left for the Lifeguard to trap. Marinette looked on as Kim got snagged by one of the pool rings and fell back into the pool. Alya and Nino had decided to swim to the far side of the pool underwater to escape. Leaving Marinette as the next target in range. She quickly pulled her legs from the pool and stood up. She made a pose not far from one Ladybug would have pulled in a similar situation.

"Lifeguard, stop this now! This isn't who you are! You are being controlled!" Marinette yelled across the pool deck as confidently as Ladybug would have done.

"I won't stop until I find Chloe Bourgeois!" The villain screamed back. She readied her pool float and swung it in Marinette's' direction, ejecting a deflated ring that was headed straight for her. Marinette tensed for the approaching projectile, she didn't have time to dodge it and without her Yo-yo, there was nothing else she could do. She accepted her doom, and closed her eyes.


	6. Too Close Fur Comfort

To Marinette's surprise, nothing had made contact with her. She had not been ensnared by the villain. But she sensed someone was in front of her. She opened her eyes cautiously and glimpsed her blonde haired saviour.

"Chat Noir...." She gasped. The leather wearing superhero stood poised in a defensive stance, silver staff extended.

He turned his head to meet Marinette's lingering gaze. "Run Marinette, get out of here!" He ordered.

Marinette's legs and brain took a moment to get re-acquainted, before she sprinted off in the opposite direction.

Skidding around the far corner of the grandstand near the entrance to the boys changing room, Marinette went to call on Tikki to transform. However she suddenly realised Tikki wasn't there in the purse usually at her side. She had left the Kwami in her bag, up on the grandstand.

Chat Noir didn't feel like himself. His, Adrien's swimming accident had spawned this villain, he couldn't help but feel guilty. More than all the other Akumatized citizens of Paris, Adrien had more resolve to bring an end to this troublemaker. But he still suffered the effects from his likely concussion; a pounding headache, nausea and his cat-like reflects and balance were negated.

"No pets allowed in the pool area!" The lifeguard barked, firing another volly of deflated pool tubes at the masked hero.

"That's okay, I didn't want to get my fur wet anyway." Chat wasn't too injured not to come up with a joke or swiftly dodge and deflect the incoming barrage. Even on his death bed, he would be able to crack some joke to his beloved Ladybug to see her smirk one last time.

Marinette peered back round the corner of the grandstand, water still occasionally dripping from her damp swimsuit; observing Chat Noir deflecting wave after wave of the projectiles, slowly advancing on the akumatized woman. She bolted up up the stairs towards her bag. Ducking down behind a row of seating so the villain couldn't see her, she quickly opened her bag to be immediately greeted by Tikki.

"There's a..." The girl started, cut off by her Kwami.

"I know, we need to get Ladybug here right now!" Tikki said in a flustered tone.

She checked to see how Chat Noir was fairing, he was continuing his slow tactical advance on the villain. Turing back to Tikki, she nodded. "Tikki! Spots on!"

Just as Chat Noir thought he had the upper hand, the akumatized villain threw a curve ball. He was mere meters away now, but the woman had stopped hurling the endless stream of inflatables at him. She lunged, swinging her rescue float, impacting his unguarded right side.

The superhero went hurtling in the air towards the large pool. He braced himself in the moments he had before hitting the water, but a tight string had coiled itself around his legs and stopped his less than graceful dive just inches from the surface of the liquid. At the other end of the string, Ladybug yanked on her yo-yo string that had shot over one of the building's roofing beams to act like a pulley system, hauling her superpowered partner up and way from the water.

The almost sudden stop had made Chat even more nauseous, but as Ladybug pulled him up to the rafters, she unwound the grasp her magical yo-yo had on his leg. Chat took a moment to steady himself and catch a breath before jumping back down to the pool deck to meet with his Lady.

"About time you showed up!" He said with his same level of jovialness.

"Sorry, I couldn't decide what swimsuit to wear, but then I remembered it wouldn't matter since I've got this suit on." She replied, gesturing to her spotted red and black attire.

Even with his concussed brain, Chat took no time at all to react to her comment. "I bet you'd look purrr-fect in anything."

This caused Ladybug to internally blush as usual, but outwardly she gave him the same old 'silly kitty' look she always had.

But, the look on his face was different, Ladybug was too busy analysing the villain to notice. Maybe it was the injury, but he couldn't help picture Marinette as Ladybug. He had made the mistake before of calling the girl who saved him earlier the masked superheroine' name, but he had put that down to being confused, concussed and completely out of it. The cogs were turning inside Adrien's mind, slowly but he was certain he was onto something. Could Marinette turn out to be the girl he dreams about each night? There was no time to dwell on this anymore, they needed to defeat the villain and capture the Akuma. And they could only do that as a team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I hope you have been enjoying this story so far. If you did it would mean so much to me if you could leave a comment or drop a kudos. I also have another Miraculous story that may interest some of you, be sure to check that out as well. You can also check this story and my others on Wattpad under the same handle.


	7. That Sinking Feeling

"You keep her distracted, I'm going to try something." Ladybug said her black cat companion.

"How am I going to do that?" Chat asked.

"What you were doing before seemed to work. Try doing that again!" She hooked her yo-yo around rafter and zipped up to up. Chat Noir started his advance again towards the villain, in a swift jog, staff in hand ready to swing. Ladybug remained perched on the metal support until Chat was past her position. 

"What are you waiting for? Seize their Miraculous now!" The deep voice echoed inside the Lifeguards' head again. She gritted her teeth, angry about having to now waste time and deal with Paris's superduo instead of enacting revenge.

Ladybug leaped to the next rafter, then the next, until she was right above the Lifeguard, without her noticing. Chat Noir had continued his distraction charge and was mere meters away, deflecting more inflatables as he went.

"Lucky Charm!" The spotted heroine yelled as quietly as she could, flinging her yo-yo up into what little space there was between the roof and the rafter. A large red, black spotted beanie materialized above her and fell into her hands. "I wonder what this is for? It's a little warm for a beanie."

She looked around the pool area, and saw a highlight around the head of the villain, looking back to her newly spawned object, it glowed with the same highlights. "Of course!" She gasped, the plan finally coming to fruition. She grabbed each side of the winter hat and stretched the opening out, then leaped off the metal beam and down onto the pool deck behind the villain. Chat was holding ground a good arm length or two away, beginning to get sloppy from continued barrages of the deflated pool floats, fearful of what had happened last time he got within striking distance may happen again.

In a swift motion just after she landed, Ladybug sprung into the air again and somersaulted over the Lifeguard, deploying the beanie as she went; pulling it far down the villains' head to block her eyes.

"Chat, now!" She exclaimed before she landed beside him. "The rescue float!"

The black cat leapt forward without hesitation. "Cataclysm!!!" He screamed, the power from his Miraculous activated, supercharging his hand with destructive power. Closing the gap in no time, Chat landed at full force into the akumatized Lifeguard, knocking them both to the ground. The Lifeguard had dropped her weapon beside her to remove the oversized hat from her face; but with a quick swipe of his claws, Chat shredded the flotation device next to her. In the same instant, the Lifeguard had liberated her face from the lucky charm head-wear and with one final act of villainy, she used both her legs to launch Chat up and away from her.

The remains of her weapon crumbled off and fell to the tiled flooring, revealing the dark butterfly that had empowered her with evil.

"No more evil doing for you little Akuma!" Ladybug flicked open her yo-yo to capture the creature. "Gotcha! Bye bye little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!" She yelled, cleansing the evil papillon before releasing it again, using some of its power to make everything right again. The people that had been ensnared by the pool floats were no longer trapped and anything broken was mended.

The victim had transformed back, the dark power falling away to reveal their true form again - Jess, the friendly pool lifeguard. Ladybug looked around for Chat to do their customary 'Pound it', but her partner was nowhere to be found, his baton laying next to the lifeguard.

\-------------

For the few seconds he was in the air, Chat didn't have much control over his trajectory, it was certain he was going into the water, like it or not. With an ungrateful flop, he hit the surface back first. The sudden stop jerked his already injured brain, causing him to fall back into unconscious as he sunk further down into the water. Bubbles of air escaped from his mouth, his limbs were like a rag-doll, eyelids closed, hair floating up as he was floating down deeper into the pool.


	8. Breathless

Ladybug broke the surface tension with her outstretched fingers, making her like a guided missile breaking the sound barrier as she dove into the pool. The momentum of her rushed but still graceful dive propelled her almost deep enough already to reach her feline companion. The smooth and water-resistant fabric of her suit enabled her to cut through the water with ease, putting wetsuits and competitive swimwear to shame.

There had not been enough time to transform into her Aquatic form, which might have been useful; she wouldn't have had any trouble breathing and her fins would have helped her reach her kitty faster. But Chat Noir need her help, now and had been underwater far to long already. And with a few powerful kicks she was finally down to him and through her blurred vision, she could tell he was definitely unconscious, laying at the bottom of the pool. Chat had fell into the deep end of the pool, which was lucky for him and unlucky for Ladybug, since it was a good few meters down.

Ladybug re-positioned herself, wrapping her arms under and around his waist. She dragged his lifeless body up to meet her, planting a gloved hand on each of his cheeks. Without a second thought, she moved her mouth to his and breathed life back into the cat.

She could feel the leather clad boy twitching beneath her, perhaps a sign of semi-consciousness, or a innate reflex of having the love of his life kiss him. Whatever the case, once she had dumped what air she had left in her lungs, she pushed off from the tiled bottom dragging the cat boy up with her, his chest to her right side with her arm around him.

As the surface was getting closer, Ladybug was getting to the last bits of her usable air. Her body was starting to gulp for air that wasn't there, causing her diaphragm to spasm uncontrollably, but she pushed on, kicking as hard as she could and paddling upward with her spare hand.

She let out a massive gasp when her blue haired head was finally out of the water, then immediately pulled Chat to the surface, laying him on his back ahead of her. Out of nowhere, the rescue flotation device that the Akuma had filled with evil energy to transform the lifeguard dropped into Ladybug's field of view.

"Grab on!" A voice called from across the pool. It was the citizen that had been akumatized, the lifeguard Jess.

Ladybug scooped her partner up again and put the float under him, leading the long rope out. Jess pulled on it, reeling the super duo. Ladybug was trying to assist but her exhausted efforts didn't yield much. At the side of the pool, with the assistance of Ladybug, Jess carefully lifted Chat out of the water and off to the side. Ladybug's blue pigtails were sodden with chlorinated water, leaving them dripping and drooped. Jess checked the superhero over. Rolling him onto his side to clear his airways.

"He's fine. Just got a some head injuries. He should come around any..." The Lifeguard was cut off by the beeping of both miraculous, indicated they only had a little bit of time before they needed to change back into civilian form.

"I need to go, but I can't leave him!" Ladybug panicked, cupping a hand over her earring. "He's about to transform back too."

Jess studied Chat for another moment. She thought to herself that the boy's injury, seemed familiar.

A little too familiar....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, is there going to be an accidental reveal next chapter? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> Thanks for reading, honestly this is what the entire story has been leading up to. This story is kinda inspired by this post by Baraschino on Tumblr: http://baraschino.tumblr.com/post/143652196444/cats-cant-swim


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